5 Common Mistakes to Avoid: Pressure Washing Your Wooden Deck

Pressure washing is known to be one of the most effective ways to thoroughly clean the house. Mold, mildew, and hard to reach debris cannot usually be cleaned off with a normal cloth and soap since they have the tendency to cling to the wood or metal.

A pressure washer can also be used to clean up patio and tiles.

Hence, most homeowners would resort to using an electric pressure washer to get rid of the stubborn dirt on their wooden deck. However, most newbies would overdo the process resulting in damage wooden floor and chipped floor paint. If this is your first time to use a pressure washer, here are some mistakes to avoid in order to preserve the glory and beauty of your wooden deck:

1. Washing the Soap Right Away

One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of rookies make when pressure washing the wooden deck is to wash the soap right away after they spray the detergent on the parts of their wooden deck. Doing this won’t fully clean the deep parts of the wood or material. The best way to fully clean the wood flooring is to let the soap or pressure washer solution seep into the material for a few minutes before you bring out your pressure washer again to rinse out the soap.

Pressure washers are also a popular tool for car washing.

2. Changing the Pressure of the Machine

When pressure washing the wooden deck, don’t change the pressure of the water from time to time. Most beginners, if they see a section that is dirtier than the others, they make the pressure stronger. Though this is a rather natural reaction, increasing the pressure too much and suddenly may actually damage the material of your deck.

Don’t position the nozzle too close to the material to avoid damage.

The best way to do this is to apply consistent pressure throughout the cleaning process. If there is a section that is dirtier than others, stay longer there, but don’t increase your pressure too much.

3. Trying Out Only One Attachment

Most rookies don’t try out the different attachments that come with their pressure washer. The different attachments that are available for pressure washers have their own unique function, which is actually helpful when doing your cleaning task.

When pressure washing the wooden deck, try out the different nozzles to check which one suits the task at hand.

There are pressure washer nozzle attachments that are more for streamlining the water to make it more concentrated while there are also attachments that intend to spray water everywhere to gain a wider area of the deck. It’s up to you to choose which one you’d like to use, but it would be a waste not to make use of these really useful attachments.

4. Not Using Fuel Stabilizer

One of the crucial parts of the pressure washer that a lot of newbies overlook is the fuel system of the machine. Taking care of the fuel system is extremely important because failure to do so would lead to problems such as engine corrosion and eventually some gas leaks (for the gas-powered machine). The best way to take care of your fuel system would be to make use of a fuel stabilizer.

Use a longer hose to connect to your pressure washer.

5. Not Allowing Some Drying Time

Lastly, after pressure washing the wooden deck, allow some drying time before you proceed with your makeover project. After you’ve washed the wooden pieces, you may be tempted to get already started on the paint job or do some modifications to your deck. However, control yourself and let the water dry out first.

Beautiful deck drying in the sunlight

To add the aesthetic appeal of your outdoor wooden deck, you may add some potted plants to make it livelier. To ensure that the plants grow healthy, you can add some fertilizer using a fertilizer spreader. There’s nothing more beautiful than a squeaky clean wooden deck paired with luscious green plants.

Conclusion

Not everyone knows how to properly clean their wooden decks, which is why there are techniques that are supposed to be taught to beginners on how to do this. Pressure washing the wooden deck is one of the most effective cleaning methods ever created, but not everyone knows how to use a pressure washer properly. In order to know how to properly make use of a pressure washer, it’s important to know what NOT to do.

Hi there! I’m Lucy – founder of GardenAmbition.com and I’m a self-confessed garden fanatic. Gardening has always been a passion of mine and will always be my favorite pastime. Now that I am married and have one adorable son, I have the time to write and share my personal experiences with other garden enthusiasts like me.

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I love to spend all the time I can outdoors and find every excuse to leave my house. I write about everything from backyard DIY projects to gardening. If you can't get a hold of me I am probably on a trail or a boat.

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I am the managing editor here at Everything Backyard. I love all things design, including interior and landscape design. In my spare time, you can find me sitting outside reading a good book or working on my own DIY projects.

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